


Thank God for Ajummas

by Far_Away_From_Sane



Series: Stray Kids [1]
Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: All of them are soft for Innie, Angst, Chan is a worried dad, Everyone loves Yang Jeongin, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Yang Jeongin, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, Maknae-centric, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Hyungs, Self Confidence Issues, Seungmin is not the spawn of satan, Team as Family, Yang Jeongin | I.N-centric, hyunjin is soft, just a little, no ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 20:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16415204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Far_Away_From_Sane/pseuds/Far_Away_From_Sane
Summary: Some careless staff members forget Jeongin at the music bank and ride home without him, so Jeongin does what he does best, decides to handle it on his own, tells no one and decides to walk home instead- only problem is he doesn't know the way, his phone is dead, and he has no bus pass to ride home either. He's frozen to the bone, his hyungs are worried, and everything ends in a cuddle fest. + Ajummas are everyone's grandma.





	Thank God for Ajummas

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thank you for clicking on this!  
> This was supposed to be around 1000 words but it ended up being 7000....anyways, I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> [Also, SPOILER: Hyunjin and Jeongin sleep in the same bed and Hyunjin undresses him to put on his pajamas, but it's in NO WAY sexual so if you're looking for that this is not the fic for you. This fic focuses on their brotherhood! Don't be nasty!]
> 
> Not proofread so expect a l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ (lot) of mistakes :)

 

Jeongin tries not to pout when they start to pack all their things up and leave the music bank they’ve just performed at, because the hyungs are beginning to stray from the group and the 00 liners beginning to clump together, leaving Jeongin alone on the sidelines to watch. He knows they’re not doing it to hurt him or to punish him for anything, he hasn’t done anything wrong and can tell that they’re not angry with him, the reason for the groups is solely because that’s the way the seats in the cars are arranged. The hyungs ride together, four in one car, the 00 liners in the other, four in that car as well, and then Jeongin rides with some of the staff in another car, alone. 

 

He’s not all too sad about it since the ride only lasts about ten minutes, thirty if the traffic is really bad, so it’s not like he’s on a plane all alone for eight hours, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy about it. He doesn’t see the problem with one of the staff members giving up their seat for Jeongin so he doesn’t have to ride alone with a group of strangers, they’re down one manager now because she had a baby so Jeongin doesn’t even have her to talk to anymore. 

 

He grumpily stuffs his backpack and puts in his earphones hoping that if he can’t converse with the manager he can at least block out the staff with some music, grabbing his phone he pushes the home button and waits for it to light up- yet nothing happens. “Oh no, no, no,” he mumbles and presses it again, desperate to make it light up but the phone screen stays black. 

 

Just then someone drapes themselves over Jeongin’s back and without even looking Jeongin knows that it’s Hyunjin, the older’s always cuddling him every chance that he gets, “bye Innie, see you in bit, okay?” he presses a quick kiss to Jeongin’s neck and Jeongin cringes and pushes him away even though he doesn’t mind it as much as he pretends that he does. Hyunjin chuckles before releasing his grip and leaving Jeongin in the changing room, Jeongin sighs in disappointment and pack his phone and his earphones into his backpack as well, there’s no use in holding onto it when it’s dead. When his backpack is packed he takes a look around the changing room and sees Woojin on his way out, when their eyes meet Woojin sends him a comforting smile and Jeongin can’t help but smile back, the older always has that calming effect. 

 

When Woojin leaves it’s quiet for a while and Jeongin feels himself growing more and more uncomfortable with the lack of sound, he doesn't have his music and his hyungs aren’t there to shout in his ear to distract him, and whenever the quiet gets a bit much the thoughts creep up. He shakes his head as if the thoughts are something physically stuck in his hair and takes a look around himself, the only people left in the changing room are some of the coordi noonas and Jeongin which has Jeongin frowning worriedly because he knows for a fact that the noonas don’t ride back with them to the JYP building, so where are the people he’ll be riding with?

 

“Noona,” he asks shyly and the girl closest to him looks up from her task, “oh, Jeongin-ah, what are you still doing here?” her question makes Jeongin’s heart beat faster and he stutters his response, “uh- I,” he sees her begin to frown in worry and without even thinking he practically shouts, “I just forgot something, they- they’re waiting for me, I just wanted to say bye,” he doesn’t know why he lies, if it’s from embarrassment or the fact that he doesn’t want to bother anyone, he could easily just ask her to call one of the managers and ask them to come back. But he doesn’t.

 

Instead he lies and tells her they’re waiting for him when he honestly has no idea if they’re still here, “oh,” she sighs in relief and throws him a smile, “you’re a sweet one, aren’t you,” he pinches his cheek and he pulls away whining, “bye Jeongin-ah,” she tells him and Jeongin says his goodbyes as well. Grabbing his backpack and his beanie he waves to the other coordi noonas in the room before exiting the changing room and heading down the corridor towards the exit, he heads down to the garage and tries to find the car he usually rides in but it’s nowhere to be seen- they really left without him.

 

He tries to swallow back the lump in his throat and blink away the frustrated tears in his eyes, he doesn’t have anything with him except for his dead phone and his sweater, he doesn’t have his credit card nor does he have his bus pass, he has no way of contacting anyone and can’t even get himself home. He wipes angrily at his cheeks and breathes deeply in an attempt to calm himself down, he’s still in Korea, he can read the signs and ask people if he has to, and he can follow the direction the bus goes and hope he makes it back. Digging his sweater out of his backpack he throws it on as well as his beanie and a mask, it’ll probably take a good two hours to get to the JYP building by walking but it’s his only choice unless he wants to have a sleepover at the music bank.

 

Exiting the garage the cold air hits him immediately and he wishes that he’d grabbed a jacket before they left this morning, he didn’t bother to because he knew they’d be inside all day and he hadn’t expected to have to walk home after. “You can do this,” he mumbles behind the black mask and jumps where he stands as if he’s pumping himself up for a sprint, “you can do this,” he repeats and begins walking. 

 

He’s familiar with the first 500 meters or so and walks with ease, but it immediately becomes harder when he gets out on the big roads, there are still sidewalks for him to walk on, but there are also way too many intersections for him to be sure of which road to head down on. He groans in frustration and grips the straps on his backpack harshly in his hands while looking around himself at all the cars and the blinking lights, everything seems so much brighter in the dark and he doesn’t know where to look. He thinks he recognizes a parked car they drove past this morning and so without thought he heads down that road, hoping it’s the right way. 

 

Meanwhile Chan’s staring at his phone with furrowed brows and worry coursing through his veins, “hyung,” Changbin leans against Chan’s shoulder and whines in his usual aegyo style, “I miss Innie,” he mumbles and Chan nods in agreement without really thinking about what Changbin’s saying, usually Jeongin’s really good at answering his phone so this is a bit unusual for the younger.

 

“He’s probably asleep, he looked tired when we left,” Minho pipes up from the front without even looking up from his phone, but he’s right, that is the most plausible explanation so Chan puts his phone away and leans his head on top of Changbin’s, “yeah,” he mumbles, “he’s probably asleep.”

 

___

 

Jeongin wishes he was asleep, cuddled up in his bed in his pink onesie watching mukbangs and trading jokes with Felix, but instead, he’s walking alongside a large road in the cold fall night with his sweater tucked tightly around himself.

___

 

Felix is a natural worrier, he may not seem like it because of his carefree nature and his childlike appearance with soft cheeks and fluffy light brown hair, but he really does worry, especially about his hyungs and dongsaengs, especially about Jeongin when Jeongin is the only one riding alone without them or a manager. Especially when he sees the hyung car roll up and not the car containing their maknae. 

 

“Hey,” Chan wraps an arm around Felix and tugs him into his side to which Felix naturally follows, always one up for some cuddling, “hey,” he replies, voice raspy and slow from having just woken up, “has Innie texted you?” Chan asks and Felix freezes a bit in the older’s hold, “no,” he answers truthfully and Chan sighs.

 

“Minho said he probably fell asleep in the car but you know how he is, he never falls asleep unless he feels truly safe,” Felix does know what he means, Jeongin likes having his own room in a hotel and likes to have his own space, but only when he knows that he could easily head down the corridor to one of the other boys’ hotel rooms, or when he knows he could easily reach over and enlace their fingers if he wants to. He likes to be alone but he doesn’t like to be lonely, and those are two very distinct things. 

 

“Maybe one of the managers has one of the staff member’s numbers?” Seungmin suggests and both Aussies jump at the sound of his voice, completely forgetting that they’re not alone, they’re standing in the lobby of the building- Jisung’s watching something on his phone, Hyunjin’s dozing off in Changbin’s lap, Changbin’s dozing off against the wall, Woojin’s just sitting there, waiting, Minho’s listening to music and Seungmin’s standing against the wall to keep himself from ending up like Hyunjin and Changbin.

 

Chan thanks Seungmin for his suggestion and reaches to grab his phone to call one of the managers whom have already ridden up the elevator to their office, but just then a car rolls up that they recognize as their third car and Woojin stands up from the floor and comes to stand next to Felix, throwing his own arm around the boy as well. The staff members begin to exit the car and the boys wait for the dungaree-clad boy to jump out as well but he never does, they wait for one of the staff members to open the back door and perhaps shake the sleeping boy awake but none of them even take a second glance at the car as they turn it off and head into the building.  The ruckus they create shakes the two sleeping boys from their slumber and Hyunjin, ever the attentive older brother scans the small crowd of people for the boy he wants to see the most, but when he doesn’t see him his eyes narrow.

 

“Where’s Innie?” he demands perhaps a bit rudely, but he’s been waiting for a good while now for the boy to show up so he can wrap him up in a hug and cuddle him like he usually does, one of the staff members look like he’s been asked the most confusing thing ever and he tilts his head and frowns, “who?” Jisung plucks a bud out of his ear and watches the exchange with calculating eyes, “Jeonginie, IN, our maknae,” Changbin puts a warning hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder and the boy relaxes his harsh expression.

 

“Um, didn’t he ride with you?” one of the men, that Jisung doesn’t even know what he’s doing there, answers and Chan levels him with a gaze that makes the hairs on Jisung’s arms rise, “no,” Chan says through his teeth, “we ride four in each car and then Jeonginie is alone in the third,” he explains it like the words physically hurt him and none of them would be surprised if they actually do, because none of them like the idea of their maknae riding alone.

 

“Oh,” the man continues, his gaze confused and head tilted, but that only lasts for a few seconds as he takes in the expression on the eight boys in the room and realizes what this means, “oh shit,” he says and that’s all the boys need to know that their maknae has been left alone on the other side of town. “Jisung-ah, can you-” Chan doesn’t need to say anything else because Jisung already has his phone to his ear waiting for the younger to pick up, but only a second later does he lower his phone, his expression dejected. “It’s turned off, my guess is that it’s dead,” Chan removes his arm from around Felix and drags it through his hair roughly.

 

“Look, we’re really sorry, we didn’t know,” Chan grinds his teeth together and Changbin stands up hastily, “yeah we get that you didn’t know but how could you fuck up this much? Did you even bother to check if he was still there? Did you even-” Hyunjin puts a comforting hand on his arm just like Changbin had done for him previously and squeezes to make him shut up.

 

“Look, we could go back and get him and-” one of the staff members begins but Seungmin, to the surprise of everyone, cuts him off, “no, we’ll do it, you’ve done enough,” there’s a chorus of agreement from all around the room and the staff members can only shrug helplessly. Jisung texts one of the managers to come down to the lobby because despite Chan having his driver’s license they’re still idols and they can’t just leave the building however they like.

 

The staff members leave them in the lobby and that’s when they truly let loose, Woojin immediately exclaims, “my poor baby,” while Chan curses and Minho mumbles something about ‘incompetent staff’, “I shouldn’t have stolen his charger,” Felix cries out dramatically and Seungmin pats him stiffly on the back, “there-there,” he mumbles and if Felix didn’t know the boy he’d think he was being sarcastic, but knowing Seungmin, the boy truly is the worst person at comforting because of his slightly awkward nature, but his awkwardness doesn’t mean he’s got anything less than a golden heart.

 

Their manager comes practically running out of the elevator, jacket thrown over his shoulders like a cape and car keys in hand, grumbling about irresponsible staff members and the importance of their idols but he stops as soon as he reaches Chan. Putting a hand on the leader’s shoulder he squeezes tightly, “let’s go, we shouldn’t keep the kid waiting any longer,” Chan nods in agreement and turns to the rest of the boys, “you don’t all have to come, I can-”

 

A chorus of protests sound from all around he room and Chan raises his hands in defense, “alright, alright, we’ll all go.” Together they all cramp into one of the larger vans, practically sitting on top of each other- not because there isn't enough space, rather it's because there's too much space- and then they're off into traffic again. 

 

Felix tries Jeongin's phone again hoping that it was just temporarily off when Jisung called and that he'll hear their maknae's voice through the speakers any second now; it goes directly to voicemail again and Felix huffs in disappointment. “No answer?” Minho nudges Felix in the side and Felix shakes his head, heart heavy in his chest. He just hopes Jeongin's doing okay over at the music bank.

 

___

  
  


In all honesty Jeongin wishes he'd stayed at the music bank, at least he would have been warm there and not on the edge of hypothermia. He’s got his arms around himself and his hands are rubbing up and down his body to try to stay warm in the cold fall air, his teeth are chattering and his nose is running, all in all, he’s pretty damn miserable.

 

To add to his misery, he’s also pretty sure that he’s lost in the middle of Seoul, he’s lived in the city for years now but he’s only ever gotten familiar with the area around his school, around their dorms, and around the JYP building, he’s never had the time to explore nor had the chance to go anywhere else, therefore, what could have been familiar streets to him -and probably is to Chan and some of the others- are completely unfamiliar and foreign to him. Surprisingly he’s not completely freaking out yet as he probably should be, but he’s in no way calm and he can feel the underlying panic begin to simmer up to the surface as the further he walks the more he realizes how lost he truly is. This could have been avoided by, first of all, letting him ride with his hyungs, second of all, their manager not having a baby, thirdly, the staff not forgetting, but perhaps most importantly, it could have been avoided if he had just told the coordi noona that they left him so that she could have easily called either one of the managers or the staff or maybe even one of his hyungs to come and pick him up- but no. Jeongin didn’t want to appear weak, he never does, so instead of sharing the load of his burden with someone else he keeps it to himself until he either breaks one day or does something stupid. Today is definitely a stupid day. 

 

If he had enough money he could buy himself something at a café and sit there until he was warm enough to continue his walk home, and if he had enough guts he’d walk up to someone and ask to use their phone, but Jeongin has neither of those things and he’s never hated his timid nature more than in this moment. He remembers Jisung’s words from back during their survival show days, when he asked him why he has no confidence after he hesitated in singing one of the parts for their competition with YG, back then he thought it was solely because of JYP’s critic towards him and the fear of sounding too much like an amateur again, but now, he realizes, there is no JYP to critic his singing- this isn’t even about singing- and yet he has no confidence in himself.

 

It angers him that he can be so weak and he kicks a stone on the sidewalk in frustration as he keeps on walking, the wind slapping his face with every step that he takes. He can do this.

 

___

 

The boys practically sprint out of the car as soon as they reach the garage to the music bank and without thought they head up the elevator to the floor of the dressing room that they were in not even an hour ago. The door flies open as Hyunjin enters it with the rest of the boys hot on his trail, but to their disappointment the room is empty save for one very startled janitor, “oh!” he lets out in surprise and clutches a hand to his heart, “you scared me,” he mumbles before adding grumpily, “damn kids.”

 

Chan ignores the sour look the janitor spares them and steps forward, “we’re looking for our maknae, have you seen a boy about my height? Brown hair?” the janitor rolls his eyes and continues sweeping the floor, “you all look the same,” he grumbles and Chan takes a deep breath to keep his composure, “he’s only seventeen, please, have you seen him?”

 

The janitor seems to take pity on him because of his desperate and pleading tone, for he stops sweeping to shake his head, “there hasn’t been anyone here for a while now, last person that left was one of the makeup ladies and she was alone.” Chan bows and thanks the man despite not really wanting to, before he ushers the others out of the room and closes the door behind them. Just then their manager comes out of the elevator, breath heavy but with a look of relief on his face, but the relief is short-lived as he realizes that the youngest boy isn’t with them. “He’s not here?” Chan nods somberly and the manager runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

 

“The janitor said that the last person that left was one of the coordi noonas, but she was alone so he couldn’t have gone with her,” Seungmin supplies, this, however, seems to give their manager a thought and he perks up, “that was probably Soyeon-ssi, I believe I have her number,” grabbing his phone out of his pocket he dials a number and puts the phone on speakers. 

 

“Hello, this is Soyeon,”

 

“Soyeon-ssi, this is Bongpal,”

 

“Oh yes, Bongpal-ssi, did Jeongin-ah get home safely?” the boys’ head immediately perk up and their manager, Bongpal, frowns deeply, “no, he didn’t, the boys and I drove back to music bank to check to see if he’s here but he’s nowhere to be found,” they hear Soyeon curse on the other side and say something to someone in the background.

 

“He left just a few minutes after you did but I didn’t see him with any of the staff, he- wait, hold on,” someone mumbles something in the background and yet again Soyeon curses, “Areum says she asked him what he was still doing there and he told her he forgot something in the changing room and that the staff were waiting for him in the garage, and then he left,” Hyunjin, without skipping a beat, replies, “he lied, they weren’t waiting for him, they forgot him.”

 

The girl, Areum, gasps loudly in the background before her voice comes closer to the phone and she says, “I knew there was something! But he seemed so sure so I just let him go, I’m sorry, I should have followed him and made sure he got in the car okay,” Changbin rubs his face and sigh deeply, getting more worried for their maknae as each second passes.

 

“It’s not your fault, Areum-ssi, that’s not your job and no one expects you to do more than required. The staff should have made sure he was with them, they’re the ones to blame,” Bongpal comforts the distraught girl while Chan winds an arm around Woojin waist and Felix huddles closer to Changbin. 

 

“I can think of two possibilities as to where he is,” Soyeon begins and the boys listen intently, “either he’s been kidnapped and is on his way to God knows where,” Jisung bites his lips in worry and Hyunjin shakes his head in denial because there’s no way that’s happened to their maknae, “or,” she continues, “or, he walked home.” 

 

Huh, they hadn’t thought about that, “he did head down to the garage and then never came back up, and all the cars in the garage are checked so it’s not like some random guy could pick him up in a truck and drive away,” her words make a lot of sense and the picture is beginning to clear up, but it’s also starting to fill the boys with dread, because if their maknae’s walking home, with no phone, minimum clothes, in a city he’s not familiar with, who knows where he is now?

 

“Oh, Jeongin-ah,” Woojin mumbles worriedly, stage name forgotten for a second as he’s overcome with concern for the youngest boy out in the city all by himself, “he doesn’t know this area well enough to find his way back,” Hyunjin bites his lips with concern and Chan pats the worried dancer on his back when he sees the fear in the younger’s eyes, fear for their maknae, for their friend, and for their brother.

 

“He could be anywhere!” Hyunjin continues, voice gaining volume and inching closer to a shout, and this time Chan let’s go of Woojin to practically throw himself over Hyunjin’s shoulder and hugs him from the back while rubbing his open palm on the boy’s chest in order to give him some much-needed comfort. “We’ll find him, Hyunjinnie, calm down,” Chan mumbles discreetly even though none of the boys in the room would even think the thought of making him feel embarrassed over this, they know Hyunjin cares for Jeongin just as much as they do, but they also know that Hyunjin and Jeongin share a bond far beyond their comprehension, so far that they couldn’t even begin to understand it. 

  
  


“How are we supposed to find him?” Minho questions with a tilt of his head and a frown between his brows, “it’s not like we can drive around aimlessly and hope that we stumble across him,” despite the boys being fully aware of the truth it still hurts to hear it out loud, but it needs to be said; like an icebreaker. Bongpal sighs heavily with his back hunched without looking at any of them but the boys wait as patiently as they can for their manager’s orders. “Listen,” Bongpal begins and by the tone in his voice they can tell that what he’s about to say is either going to be idiotic or pure genius, “it could get messy but...we could contact the police.”

 

“The police? Hyung he hasn’t been kidnapped!” Felix exclaims loudly and takes a step forward as if he’s ready to shout some more if Bongpal retaliates, however there’s no need for it because Bongpal simply nods and spares him a glance, “I know that, Felix, but with the help of the police we can find him quicker, hopefully before fans find him wandering around all alone,” and while the boys hate to admit it, it’s not a bad idea, but it is, however, a lot more complicated than they would like it to be. Why couldn’t the staff just have done their job properly?

 

All of the boys take a second to look at each other, eyes meeting eyes from all across the room to try and decipher each others’ thoughts simply through eye contact- Bongpal stays out of it to let the boys ‘talk’ things through on their own but he does, however,  keep an eye on their reactions.

 

The sound of someone’s phone going off breaks the intense staring between the boys and the room seems to snap out of the suffocating silence, they begin to look around only to realize it’s coming from Hyunjin’s pocket. Chan lets his arms fall from Hyunjin’s shoulders so that the boy can dig his phone out and when he does he pauses while looking at the screen, “who is it?” Jisung asks impatiently, eyes blown wide and his bottom lip stuck between his teeth. “It’s an unknown number,” Hyunjin mumbles in reply and while they know they shouldn’t answer phone calls that aren’t by authorized numbers, their current situation leads them to believe that maybe they can make an exception, Bongpal seems to think the same way as he nods for Hyunjin to go ahead but gestures for him to turn on the speakers.

 

“Hello, this is Hyunjin,” immediately a woman’s voice can be heard through the speaker but she doesn’t scream or cry that she’s managed to call Stray Kids’ Hyunjin as most fans do, so they let her continue, “hello Hyunjin-ssi, my name’s Soonja and I have your little brother here right next to me,” collectively everyone holds their breath as a second of silence passes but then they hear it, the unmistakable sound of their maknae’s voice, “hyung,” he mumbles through the phone and Hyunjin almost feels like crying when he hears the distress in the younger’s voice. “Innie~” Hyunjin mumbles in relief and looks up at the other boys to see their faces decorated with smiles and plain relief. 

 

Chan gestures for him to pass the phone over to him, “Jeongin-ah, where are you right now?” he asks gently so that it’s clear that he’s not mad at him, only concerned for his well being, “oh, I-um-” a scratching sound sounds as Jeongin passes the phone over to the lady but then a second later she answers for him, “we’re by Jongno station on the corner of the Haengjok hotel,” she answers and Bongpal ‘ah’s and snaps his fingers, “okay, we can be there in about 10 minutes tops.”

 

“Okay, hyung,” Jeongin’s small voice resonates through the phone and Changbin leans forward so that the phone can catch his voice better, “yah, be excited! We’re coming to get you,” the sound is small but they can clearly hear the chuckle Jeongin lets out and that’s a win in their books.

 

“Soonja-ssi,” Bongpal begins and they can hear her answer ‘yes’, “would you be so kind to stay with him until we get there?” suddenly her voice gains volume and she exclaims loudly, “of course! What kind of person would I be if I let a boy the age of my grandkids stand on a street corner all alone? tsk tsk tsk,” Bongpal’s eyes widen to the size of saucers while the boys laugh at their manager being scolded by an old lady, “al-alright, Soonja-ssi, we’ll be there soon.”

 

“Ye~” and then the phone call ends. Immediately the mood is much lighter than before and their faces brighter, “thank god for ajummas,” Minho says randomly and it forces a laugh out of all of them, “let’s get going, we don’t want to keep them waiting out in the cold.” Bongpal doesn’t think he’s ever seen the boys run to the car as fast as they do and almost wishes they could be that quick in the morning when they’re actually in a hurry.

 

“Hyung, come on, don’t be so slow,” Seungmin whines and Bongpal can’t help but laugh at how the tables have turned, “I’m coming, hold on.” When everyone’s seated in the car they quickly roll out of the garage and onto the streets of Seoul, this time not as filled with worry as they were mere minutes ago. Thankfully it doesn’t take long to get to Jongno station and from there they only need to round a corner to see their maknae standing hand in hand with an old lady that can only be Soonja, pulling into the side into an empty parking spot Bongpal barely has the time to stop the car before one of the doors fly open and Jisung sprints out to throw himself onto Jeongin.

 

“Ah, our baby!” to the surprise of everyone Jeongin doesn’t try to push the older boy away, he doesn’t even whine in the way he usually does when he’s forced to cuddle someone, instead he buries his face into Jisung’s front and hesitantly winds his arms around him, “Jeongin-ah,” Jisung says in shock as he wraps his arms around the younger to hold him closer. “Who’s this and what have you done with our maknae?” he jokes with a bright smile to try and get the boy to lighten up but his smile quickly falls off his face when he feels the boy shaking, “yah,” Seungmin mumbles and comes up from behind Jeongin to hug him from the back so that he’s squished between the two.

 

“Thank you so much,” Chan bows deeply in front of Soonja who only pats him on the cheek and smiles an almost toothless smile, “aigoo, you were really worried, weren’t you,” she pinches Chan’s cheek like a grandmother would do to their grandchild. Chan bows yet again and she simply shakes it off with a wave of her hand, “no need, no need,” she mutters bashfully, “you take care of that boy,” she points to Jeongin who lifts his head from Jisung’s chest and glances over his shoulder.

 

“Thank you,” he mumbles into Jisung’s shoulder and Soonja waves with a big smile, “oh, so cute. Be good to your hyungs, they care about you a lot,” and before Jeongin has the chance to answer she turns around and heads down the street in the opposite way of where they’re heading. 

 

“Let’s get in the car,” Chan tells them and with great care Jisung and Seungmin enter the car without letting go of their still shaken maknae, and once inside Jisung loosens his grip ever so slightly so that he can pull away and check on the boy more closely, and his heart almost breaks when he sees the dried tears tracks on the boy’s cheeks. Removing the boy’s mask he says, “You were really scared, weren’t you?” with his squirrel smile and Jeongin nods without saying a word, he feels that if he were to try and speak he’d probably start to sob. “Felix, can you hand me that blanket? He’s really cold,” Seungmin asks as he pulls the backpack off of Jeongin frozen body and begins to rub his hands up and down the younger’s arms. Handing the blanket over Felix stares worriedly as Jeongin shivers, “let’s get you warm, shall we,” Jisung mumbles as Seungmin drapes the blanket over Jeongin and Jeongin can only nod, his teeth chattering loudly in the car. 

 

Hyunjin turns the heat up to max without a word and settles into his seat quietly, turning around to stare at the shivering boy but not doing anything to help, he doesn’t feel like there’s much to do as Jeongin’s already being taken care of, but he’s also a bit shaken by the events of the evening. 

 

With Seungmin, Jeongin, and Jisung in the back the rest of them can’t reach their maknae to give him physical comfort, so they settle for throwing loving comments at him to try and cheer him up, “are you happy now that your hyungs have come to your rescue?” Changbin says in an overly-sweet tone that has the rest of them cringing, even Jeongin makes a grimace at it but unlike he usually would react it’s not as exaggerated, it’s more of a slight wince before he nods in agreement. His confirmation has all the boys in the car feeling like their hears are being ripped out of their chests because it’s clear to them that Jeongin really means it; he must have been really scared, they think. 

 

They roll through the city with not much said other than a few comments here and there, Jeongin stays cuddled up close to Jisung and Seungmin stays plastered to Jeongin’s side as if that’s where he belongs. Jeongin rests his head on Jisung’s shoulder the entire way and Jisung rests his on Jeongin’s, it’s a cute sight if not a slightly sad one; Jeongin would never have agreed to it if it weren't for the fact that he’s hurting.

 

Somewhere along the ride Jeongin falls asleep which they only notice when his head rolls off Jisung’s shoulder and his chin hits his chest. He sleeps all the way back to the dorms and when the car stops none of the boys move, it’s only then that they realize they’re at their dorms and not at the JYP building, “hyung, I thought we had late practice,” Chan taps Bongpal on the shoulder and Bongpal nods knowingly before pointing to his phone, “I got a text saying you’re exempt from practice just for tonight, so up you go, and get some goddamn sleep alright,” moans of relief echo in the car and despite knowing they should and probably need to practice they’re very happy that they won’t have to, solely because they don’t want to disturb Jeongin.

 

“Should we wake him?” Felix whispers loudly, the sound muffled by the mask covering his face and words slurred from being tired, Woojin shakes his head hastily and puts a hand on Chan who leans forward to shake him awake, “no, don’t. I’ll carry him up,” he says quietly and opens the car door on his side before heading out, Hyunjin follows him while Chan slips out on the other side and with that Changbin and Felix open their doors as well so that the only ones remaining inside are the trio and Bongpal.

 

Woojin opens the door on Seungmin’s side of the car and Seungmin reluctantly lets go of the younger to slip out and get out of the way, crawling inside Woojin struggles a bit to get a good grip on the boy but Jisung helps by lifting him up enough so that Woojin can get his arms under him and lift him bridal style into his arms. Jisung holds onto Jeongin until Woojin’s all the way out of the car and that’s when Jisung grabs the boy’s backpack and his own stuff, “bye hyung,” he tells Bongpal who only waves in the rearview mirror, “get some sleep, tomorrow’s gonna be a  long day,” Jisung nods, suddenly feeling extremely tired, and waves Bongpal bye before slipping out of the vehicle and closing the door behind him.

 

Together they all head to the elevator quickly to get out of the cold and Woojin tugs the boy in his arms closer to himself and presses a soft kiss to the top of Jeongin’s head, it’s a bit of a tight squeeze in the elevator but not one of the boys mind and Felix wholeheartedly uses it as an excuse to cuddle closer Chan as well as Changbin. Minho coos at Jeongin and ruffles his hair carefully as to not wake him up, “aigoo,” he whispers to no one in particular as he wipes at some of the dried tears on his cheeks, “can we fire every single person in that other car?” he asks, still in a whisper and still with a fond smile on his face as if he didn’t just ask if they could deprive five or more people of their income. 

 

“We can’t do that,” Chan mumbles scoldingly with a warning look but Minho doesn’t take it to heart because he knows Chan feels the same way, “but we can certainly ask for a change in our arrangements so that no one has to ride alone,” Minho wants more than that but he also knows that he has to settle for something, so he nods along with Chan’s idea and falls silent. When the doors to the elevator open they file out in one big group and try to stay as quiet as possible on the way to their door so that they don’t disturb their neighbors. As soon as their front door opens a gust of warm air hits them from when they turned on the timer so that the radiators would automatically rise in temperature, sparing them of arriving back home to a freezing cold apartment. 

 

“He can just take a shower tomorrow, right? We already washed up after music bank,” Hyunjin questions, desperate to cuddle up next to Jeongin but not without permission from the others, thankfully, he gets his way as Chan nods slowly with a soft smile and he quietly claps his hands in victory. Woojin heads down to their room to put Jeongin down onto Hyunjin’s bed but just as he does he remembers that Jeongin’s still in his clothes from before, “do you want me to do it?” Woojin whispers but Hyunjin shakes his head, “no, I’ll do it,” Woojin spares him a gentle smile before pressing a kiss to Jeongin’s cheek and heading out of the room, leaving the door slightly open to let some light in.

 

“Innie,” Hyunjin mumbles quietly and caresses a loving hand through the boy’s hair, “hyung was really worried about you,” he continues, voice low and rumbling in his chest, “good thing I forced you to memorize my number huh,” he chuckles to himself knowing that the boy lying on the bed can’t hear him. “Let’s get you out of these clothes you baby,” he tells him before he starts to pull on one of the sleeves to get Jeongin’s arm out. It’s a bit of a struggle since he’s lying down on the bed and can’t help in any way, but luckily he doesn’t have to struggle for long because the door opens a bit wider and in comes Chan.

 

“Hey, I just wanted to check up on you,” he mumbles and Hyunjin realizes that he too has changed into pajamas, a rare sight in the dorm as they’re all usually in bed long before Chan even sets foot in his room. “D’you need help?” Hyunjin nods and with the help of Chan they manage to make Jeongin sit up, his back to Chan’s chest, carefully they pull his shirt over his head and Hyunjin tosses it onto the floor thinking they’ll deal with it tomorrow. He pulls out one of his own shirts from his drawers and pulls it over Jeongin’s head, it’s an oversized shirt on Hyunjin and on Jeongin’s lithe form it practically swallows him whole.

 

They lay him down again and Hyunjin pulls the covers away before unzipping his pants and pulling them down the boy’s legs; they join the shirt on the floor. Jeongin mumbles something in his sleep and both of the older boys hold their breaths in fear of waking the younger but when he doesn’t say anything else they relax and pull the covers up and over him. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Chan reaches over and grips Hyunjin’s jaw and caresses his cheek in a rare act of affection, it’s not that he’s not touchy with them all, but he’s usually not this...genuine. There’s usually a lot more joking incorporated into it, but Hyunjin guesses it’s an after-effect of the stressful night they’ve had, and maybe Chan’s way of making sure they’re all there with him.

 

“Yeah, good night, hyung,” Hyunjin mumbles sleepily, suddenly overcome by the desire to go to bed and not wake up for at least a day- but he know that’s not possible as they have a schedule the next day, but at least he can get some time to cuddle Jeongin even if it isn’t as much as he’d like. He pulls his own shirt off, not bothering to put on a new one, and his pants end up in the pile of clothing on the floor as well. He pulls on a pair of sweat shorts and slips in under the covers next to the sleeping boy, pulling him into his arms he throws a leg over him and holds him against his chest, trying to get as close as possible for his own benefit but also to keep the boy warm as he’s still shivering ever so slightly. 

 

Jeongin’s breath tickles his chin but Hyunjin pays it no mind, he’s too content to try and change anything about their position, Jeongin grips Hyunjin’s arm in a tight grip in his sleep and Hyunjin tries not to laugh at how cute the younger boy is when he’s asleep. Jisung slips into the room a little later and when he sees the two of them he sends them a smile and kneels beside the bed, “you’re gonna have to brush your teeth for ten minutes tomorrow since you didn’t do it now,” Hyunjin swats him on the arm and Jisung giggles, “yeah, yeah, I know, but I can’t get up now,” Jisung smiles softly and caresses Jeongin’s cheek lovingly, “good night,” he mumbles before leaning over and planting kisses on both of their foreheads, “good night Sungie,” Hyunjin whispers, he waits for Jisung to climb into his own bed before he lets his eyes fall shut, finally succumbing to sleep.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading this  
> If you have any ideas, suggestions and/or requests then please don't hesitate to comment! I love writing for Stray Kids and I'm open for almost everything (no smut tho...not my children), but I don't only write Jeongin centric so if you want something else that's fine!
> 
> Have a nice day/night/morning/evening <3 <3 <3


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